MBP advice - current refurb offering or wait for refresh?

[ILMSTMF]

Long story made short:

Needs
-Express slot for eSATA and/or FW expansion (one FW port is not enough)
-Fast (duh)
-Would be nice to be able to connect to my plasma over HDMI or some other such means but not a necessity.

Don't need
-Useless SD card slot
-Logic board problems
-GPU flame war (I understand some folks have had a hot debate going re: dedicated vs. "whatever the built-in GPU is called, can't remember what it is")
-a gaming computer

Intended use: FCP editing; fast enough to handle 2 simultaneous tracks of ProRes would be a big plus. 3D compositing in Motion and AE. The faster this machine can handle MPEG2 and h.264 compression, the better. The same can be said for AVCHD->ProRes422 (LT) processing time.

I have no problem purchasing a refurbished product with AppleCare. I absolutely do not intend to purchase any build-to-order options such as RAM or a 7200RPM internal. That in mind, I would also appreciate anyone's suggestion for performing an internal HDD swap for that 7200. Is this "you'll void your warranty if you do it yourself" territory?

I CAN wait for the refresh but I also (sorta) could use this for next week. Assuming a refurb would take 3-5 business days, I don't think I'd be able to get this in time anyway. The collection of 30 or so Apple Store gift cards also won't help my online Apple Store purchase but that's another story...And an issue that can be resolved in store (I checked with mangers from 2 separate retail stores).

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Hellhammer]

If you really need ExpressSlot, just buy now as I doubt we'll see it in updated MBP. The price of it will remain the same too because it's already previous gen and only available through refurb store.

 

[Habitus]

Long story made short:

Needs
-Express slot for eSATA and/or FW expansion (one FW port is not enough)
-Fast (duh)
-Would be nice to be able to connect to my plasma over HDMI or some other such means but not a necessity.

Don't need
-Useless SD card slot
-Logic board problems
-GPU flame war (I understand some folks have had a hot debate going re: dedicated vs. "whatever the built-in GPU is called, can't remember what it is")
-a gaming computer

Intended use: FCP editing; fast enough to handle 2 simultaneous tracks of ProRes would be a big plus. 3D compositing in Motion and AE. The faster this machine can handle MPEG2 and h.264 compression, the better. The same can be said for AVCHD->ProRes422 (LT) processing time.

I have no problem purchasing a refurbished product with AppleCare. I absolutely do not intend to purchase any build-to-order options such as RAM or a 7200RPM internal. That in mind, I would also appreciate anyone's suggestion for performing an internal HDD swap for that 7200. Is this "you'll void your warranty if you do it yourself" territory?

I CAN wait for the refresh but I also (sorta) could use this for next week. Assuming a refurb would take 3-5 business days, I don't think I'd be able to get this in time anyway. The collection of 30 or so Apple Store gift cards also won't help my online Apple Store purchase but that's another story...And an issue that can be resolved in store (I checked with mangers from 2 separate retail stores).

Thanks in advance!!

No guarantee that a refresh is coming. Are your needs going to drastically change that would require what the "refresh" provides?

Get your Mac, now!

Habitus

 

[XxEjGxX]

i say just get one now, the expresslot probs won't be in new ones and they wont make a massive difference in speed for you either

 

[techound1]

Was I the only one who read the whole post? The general consensus on the HD and RAM upgrades is that since they show you how to do it in the owner's manual is HAS to be considered a user-installable upgrade and therefore does NOT void your warranty.

 

[kellen]

Ditto on what everyone has said.

Only the last generation have an expresscard slot, so buy one now. I doubt they would add it back in on the next generation or add an extra firewire or E-sata port, but anything is possible.

Also replacing the HD and Ram do not invalidate your warranty, unless you damage the computer in the process.

 

[grapii]

Wait Wait Wait !!!!

Don't listen to these Apple fanatics.... if a pile of ***** had an Apple logo on it, they'll tell you it's the best pile of ***** in the world and pick it up now.

MBP are over 6 months old and for Apple to charge the same price now as they did when it first came out is ridiculous... everyone with common sense can see that....those with apple sense (the muppet fanatics) would still advise you to get it.

I would wait, if you're not in a rush, for the next upgrade. The processor will be faster, the architecture more advanced and faster bus speeds.

And that's what you want for video editing!!!

Why can't people with Apple products provide non-biased opinions, rather than being extremists!!!

 

[chris7777]

What model are you looking at getting 17" or 15"?

the 17 is the only current model with an express card lot, BUT I have seen a couple of 1st gen 15" unibodies pop up around Christmas,

I haven't been checking daily though.

 

[rb4havoc]

Don't listen to these Apple fanatics.... if a pile of ***** had an Apple logo on it, they'll tell you it's the best pile of ***** in the world and pick it up now.

MBP are over 6 months old and for Apple to charge the same price now as they did when it first came out is ridiculous... everyone with common sense can see that....those with apple sense (the muppet fanatics) would still advise you to get it.

I would wait, if you're not in a rush, for the next upgrade. The processor will be faster, the architecture more advanced and faster bus speeds.

And that's what you want for video editing!!!

Why can't people with Apple products provide non-biased opinions, rather than being extremists!!!

I can!

My iMac 24" 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo plays better with Windows 7 than it does Snow Leopard. True story

Anyways, as for the topic on hand, if you can I'd wait. I'm personally waiting for the refresh as well because seeing how Snow Leopard does handle on that kind of processor doesn't impress me much, so I hope it definitely runs better on an i5 or i7 Intel processor. I really wish Apple would go and fix some of the issues with their OS and the bloated code in the graphics API, because it's just too damn sad that I have a better experience with my iMac running Windows 7 over Snow Leopard

Edit: This is also coming from a person who has been using Macs since 1987, so it's not that I'm biased towards PCs.

 

[pukifloyd]

Get the current refurbished ones..there's no guarantee when there will be a refresh...just get it now and be happy

if the updated ones are good and will do your work then sell the refurb one and buy the new one...but don't wait now

 

[quadG5guy]

Why don't you just read one of the other 352 threads about "buy now or wait for MBP refresh" that have been posted just this week alone? Did you really need another thread?

 

[rb4havoc]

Why don't you just read one of the other 352 threads about "buy now or wait for MBP refresh" that have been posted just this week alone? Did you really need another thread?

Yes.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Only the last generation have an expresscard slot, so buy one now. I doubt they would add it back in on the next generation or add an extra firewire or E-sata port, but anything is possible.

Also replacing the HD and Ram do not invalidate your warranty, unless you damage the computer in the process.

The current gen 17" has an expresscard slot. I'm not looking at anything BUT the 17" (be it current crop or refurb previous crop) since it seems to be the only model with the expresscard slot. I absolutely need to have this for expanding connectivity to either eSATA/FW400 & 800 or both. Have done no research on what adapters are out there for said purpose(s); will cross that bridge when I get there.

MBP are over 6 months old and for Apple to charge the same price now as they did when it first came out is ridiculous... everyone with common sense can see that..

The processor will be faster, the architecture more advanced and faster bus speeds.

And that's what you want for video editing!!!

Precisely. I COULD use the damn thing for next week but I don't want to plunk down close to 3grand and then get a refresh in a few weeks (months?) for something better at the same price.

Yes.

Thanks for answering for me. Yes, another thread was entirely necessary, why the f**k not? ;-)

Truth be told, I outlined what I was looking for as concisely as I could for the sake of saving readers some time.

One thing no one has yet to address is this GPU situation...sorry to propose the possibility of another flame war but uhhh...what gives?
And how about rigging this f***er up to a plasma (GPU monitoring, not video monitoring)...is this a common practice?
Forgive me, I'm not a "laptop guy".
Thanks to all for chiming in with your advice; I'm glad to be enlightened about the do-it-yourself-internal-HD-replace-not-voiding-warranty situation. ;-)

 

[dont24]

Don't listen to these Apple fanatics.... if a pile of ***** had an Apple logo on it, they'll tell you it's the best pile of ***** in the world and pick it up now.

MBP are over 6 months old and for Apple to charge the same price now as they did when it first came out is ridiculous... everyone with common sense can see that....those with apple sense (the muppet fanatics) would still advise you to get it.

This is exactly why I'm waiting. The current 13" offering is more than enough, for what the wife and I plan to do with it. But there's no way I'm paying $1100 - $1200 for 8 month old hardware.